It was amazing for me to read Teresa's last blog entry. I can't believe how fast she absorbed all that information! The greatest part for me is not only being inspired by how much and how quickly Teresa is learning, but how much I am learning!
Taking into account what Teresa wrote, let me explain how we improved the image during the processing stage. Her reason for making the image was to draw attention to the subjects beyond the fence. The problem with the first image is the fence is so bright that our eyes get stuck there and have a much harder time getting through to the more important subjects.
So we subtracted light from the fence by subtracting light or 'burning' it in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and we brightened up the truck and wall by adding brightness or 'dodging' it in ACR. We also brought out more of their inherent colours and sharpened the details. As Teresa mentioned, our eyes go to the brightest, most saturated and sharpest parts of a photograph. So, if you look at the two images once again, you will notice how your eyes are more easily drawn through the fence and how much more easily you pick up the details of the truck and the chains on the red wall. We also added a little more contrast to both subjects.
That was a great exercise. Everyone can vastly improve their image making by knowing what they are trying to say with their image, and knowing better how to process the image in order to say it.
Try it and let us know how you are doing!
Hi! Chris . . congrats on the San Francisco award. Well deserved! Now, a visual comment on the above writing . . I'm getting a really strong after? or inbetween image of slightly diagonal gray lines from the white print on the black background . . a bit distracting. Maybe it's just my particular eyes. Enjoy the Facebook Adventure. It is a whole new world out there. I've long enjoyed your newsletter and your tips for photographers and most of all the images and your obvious joy in capturing them. Bravo!
Posted by: Valerie Rampone | 04/17/2010 at 09:03 PM